Every year since I’ve been at Cabrini, we’ve had a giant weekend bash known as Spring Fling. As much as I enjoyed the inflatables and concerts, I could only see the weekend as one big drunk wonder for the majority of the students.
Although fun and entertaining for those who were “sober” sometime during the weekend, Spring Fling was an excuse for many people to tie one on. What many people do not realize is the amount of volume and chaos Spring Fling really created, and I’m not just talking about last year’s tragic incident alone.
The air had a high stench of marijuana mixed with alcohol, most likely Lion’s Head, Natural Light or some other cheap beer. As anyone would have guessed when drugs and alcohol hit the campus so prominently like they did on previous Spring Flings, it only created more damage to the campus than the usual “Thirsty Thursday” evening.
I’m talking about hardcore damages like broken windows, holes in walls in various campus houses, garbage everywhere, vomit covering the floors and these are only some of what was found.
Heavily staffed, the campus was prepared for something major with the help of public safety and residence life. There were approximately four resident assistants in all three areas and a mandatory public safety shift for all officers that day, and it still wasn’t enough for everything to be handled.
When under the influence, students are more rowdy and are often disrespectful to the school officials that promote the safety of our campus. This is wrong and unnecessary for everyone. We are supposed to act like a community and respect everyone and everything, but the underage drinking and illegal drug use has tainted the times of those people who prefer to do things the sober way. It’s been unpleasant these last few years for those who choose to stay without a joint or red cup in hand.
Since last year, a lot has changed with the sanctions for underage alcohol use and excessive amounts of alcohol. Last year’s incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back, giving way to these much higher penalties.
On other college campuses if students receive an “underage” they lose their license for 90 days mandatory on the first offense. And that is without all the fines that are higher than what students are given here at Cabrini. Second offense for an “underage” is a mandatory six-month license suspension and almost triple the fines.
If you’re caught publicly intoxicated and you’re of age at the time, those same police officers have every right to make an arrest and take you for a nice drive down to headquarters. There, they book you, stick you in a cell, hook up monitors and video tape you. The next morning, after your drunken bliss has passed, you will be crashing hard in to hung over mode and put into another room to watch the video you created hours beforehand. Fun times, fun times, especially for my friends who have actual account of these experiences.
I think in order to have another Spring Fling in Cabrini’s future, funding should be collected in order to have public safety officers in each house on campus and have police officers in those “hot spots” on campus. To take it even further, sanctions should be higher for the event if caught damaging the campus, disturbing the peace in the community, underage drinking and public intoxication.
We should be able to have a Spring Fling every year, at the student’s responsibility.
